The Wolverine

The Wolverine

Posted July 27, 2013

I have to admit that I heard a couple of Collider interviews that pointed out that this isn’t really a comic book movie until the third act and I totally have to agree. It’s thoughtful and interesting and sort of everything I expected the first Wolverine movie to be. But for all the character work in the beginning, I never engaged with this movie emotionally. Not in a Nolan way, because the movie lacked substantive emotion, but in a very personal way. Nothing in this movie resonated in me. But it was well made so, I would imagine it could […]

Event Horizon| Comic Con 2013

Event Horizon| Comic Con 2013

Posted July 24, 2013

Tragically, I wasn’t at Comic Con this year. …It’s entirely possible I need to remind myself of the actual definition of tragic but I digress. In lieu of having actually been there I’ve collected all sorts of news and videos and photos from the panels so we can all pretend we were there together. Marvel Marvel definitely knows how to do Comic Con. Though I found their panels a bit lackluster this year, mostly because I’m not that interested in the properties they had panels for. There was a Captain America panel, which was the most interesting. But no good […]

Hugh Jackman on Wolverine

Hugh Jackman on Wolverine

Posted July 15, 2013

Things could have been very different. It’s October 2007 and Hugh Jackman’s hair rides high above amber aviators and a grey, mercerised suit. There’s a helicopter, sequined showgirls and an unnecessary number of high fives. The Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” is slowly being strangled. The eventual credits to Viva Laughlin – an American reworking of acclaimed British series Blackpool – present Jackman as both protagonist and producer. CBS backed the song-and-dance drama, opting to introduce it with CSI (read: millions of viewers) as a lead-in. It premiered on October 18 and was buried – presumably deep in a […]

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim

Posted July 13, 2013

Pacific Rim is soooo cool! That was my initial impression when they showed footage at Comic Con last year, and also the strongest reaction I had leaving the theater today. (I’m glad I saw it opening weekend. Because unique ideas are becoming so rare in summer blockbusters and this is a good one. a little scary every now and then because those kaiju aren’t joking around.) But I was also impressed that in the midst of a giant monsters vs. giant robots movie there’s a human element to it. The concept is giant monsters (kaiju) vs. giant robots (jaeger) but […]

The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger

Posted July 4, 2013

I almost don’t even want to review The Lone Ranger, I just want to talk about when marketing lies. And I have to admit it’s not often that I’ll watch a trailer and get the tone of a movie so wrong. Even when they hedge around the edges of a story, usually I can spot it. But this was a master job of misdirection. The trailers suggested a family movie with outlandish action, a little danger, and a story full of farce and horses and trains. But this was certainly NOT a fun family movie. Really, The Lone Ranger is […]

Good superheroes

Good superheroes

Posted June 26, 2013

I’ve had this on going conversation with a few friends, pretty much ever since Captain America. And I’ve alluded to a lot of this before. Seeing Man of Steel was the final catalyst I needed to write it outright. I’ve never been a huge fan of Superman. The character always was kind of bland to me (which will seem like a direct contradiction to everything I’m about to say). I liked the idea that Smallville would roughen the character up a some – giving him depth by giving him angst. But I feel like they never really achieved that idea. […]

Man of Steel

Man of Steel

Posted June 23, 2013

It’s not often that my reviews are as colored by other opinions and insights as this one is. But that’s what happens when I wait a week to write it, and in this case I think it makes for a better review. There was a lot to like in Man of Steel. A lot of character drama, some very good performances and a good score. And bonus points for Tahmoh! But there was also a darkness to the film that didn’t really fit with Superman in some ways and some Nolan elements that couldn’t be escaped. By and large, the […]

Fast & Furious 6

Fast & Furious 6

Posted June 8, 2013

I really liked Fast 5. And because of that I kind of have a soft spot for the Fast & Furious movies. kind of. I mean, I haven’t seen the first movie in years and would love to rewatch it. I saw the second movie and thought it was ridiculous. Have never seen the third movie. I tried to but couldn’t get past the first fifteen minutes. The fourth one is on tv all the time so I’ve seen that quite a bit and it’s fun enough on a Saturday afternoon with nothing going on. But I really expected to […]

Henry Cavill| Meet The New Superman

Henry Cavill| Meet The New Superman

Posted June 1, 2013

The 30-year-old star of Man of Steel, is jobless, having bided his time as director Zack Snyder took nearly two years to apply the finishing touches to his blockbuster reboot. The movie could propel the relative unknown to stardom faster than a speeding bullet—or be career kryptonite. Still, it’s unclear who most needs to be saved by Superman — Cavill or the rest of us? IN A DARKENED EDITING BAY ON THE Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California, Man of Steel footage rolls on a 70-inch screen. Finally, here’s the director Zack Snyder’s long-awaited, top-secret Clark Kent: swarthy and muscular, […]

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness

Posted May 25, 2013

This review is not going to be fair. I just want to be clear about that upfront. And it’s not because Into Darkness wasn’t good; it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

I wanted it to be surprising and inventive. I wanted it to be smarter than I am and the dialog to be more clever than I am.